


The Story of Yomi

by MissIF



Category: Bleach
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Spirits, F/M, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Spirit World, Zanpakutou, slight romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-08-13 19:43:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7983832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissIF/pseuds/MissIF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Each spirit must find their place in the world, no matter what. But as the ice spirit Kuchiki Rukia will soon learn, not every spirit is exactly what they seem when she encounters the Ryoka and their allies. Together they will reveal the true evil of the spirit world, and fight to protect all they hold sacred.</p>
<p>Spirit AU. On Hiatus</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The spirits were restless tonight.

 

Rukia could feel it in the air from her perch atop the palace roof. She watched as spirits flew through the night sky in random formations, the forest before her alive with activity.

 

There would be a calling tonight, for the Court Guard. A gathering of the highest ranked spirits in Japan brought before the High Commander to discuss the recent oddities and behaviours of the lesser spirits. Rukia would attend of course, she was a noble spirit after all, along with her brother. Snow blew by her and disappeared into the wind. The cold had never bothered Rukia, and why would it? She was a snow spirit, not a master spirit like the  _ Hyorinmaru _ , but a powerful class of her own.

 

A sudden appearance behind Rukia caught her attention.

 

“The meeting will start in half an hour,” he said.

 

Rukia turned to face her friend, the spirit Renji. Red fur lined his shoulders, bone looping around his waist and torso as a skeleton snake slithered over his body, the head resting on his arm and watching Rukia with it’s glowing red eyes.  _ Zabimaru _ was his spirit name, a snake baboon spirit, and rightly dubbed the king of monkey by the other spirits. Renji served as Byakuya’s, Rukia’s brother, second in command, a seat that gave him more power than even Rukia could hold.

 

Renji stood next to her, “What do you think it is?”

 

“I have no idea. I can’t sense any evil spirits, but there may be some hiding or something only the more primitive spirits can sense. Have you tried asking?”

 

Renji shook his head, “None of them will talk. All I can tell is that they’re afraid of something out there.”

 

“A spirit?”

 

“Most likely. Probably a dark one too if this many wild spirits are leaving the forest. The Court will most likely vote to investigate it.”

 

“And if it is a dark spirit?”

 

Renji looked at her, knowing she knew the answer already. Dark spirits were a plight on the world, deadly and as toxic as a disease. Normally they stayed within their own borders, the opposite world from the one spirits like Rukia resided in, and kept to themselves. Occasionally one would cross the border to hunt for human souls, but each time they would be beat back by a Court spirit. If it was a dark spirit, then one of the court would be sent to deal with it.

 

“Come on,” Renji said. “We need to meet with the captain.”

 

Rukia nodded and the two dropped down to the ground. They walked to the front of the palace where Byakuya waited for them. Rukia’s brother was a powerful spirit, one of the strongest in the court, proud and noble. He was the Head of their clan, and ancient order of noble spirits with superior powers than those of not noble lineage. Byakuya was said to be the strongest Head ever, his spirit title  _ Senbonzakura _ was well known for it’s power among the Court, far more than Rukia and Renji could hope to achieve. Spirits like Byakuya were known as ‘captain-class’ entities, spirits stronger and more powerful than others and given a seat in the Court Guard as well as command over a small variety of other spirits. Byakuya commanded the Sixth Guard Company, Renji acting as his lieutenant and second commanding officer to the company.

In many ways Rukia envied her friend and her brother. Both held commanding titles, something she strived for, in the Court and for years she had worked make her brother proud. However she had not gained a title, working in the Thirteenth Company only as an unseated officer. Her captain was Ukitake Jushiro, the ancient spirit of  _ Sōgyo no Kotowari _ , was a fair man whose health had unfortunately began to deteriorate some centuries ago. Despite her lack of office however, Rukia had made a name for herself in the company, some even saying she had the full right to the lieutenant’s position since Ukitake had yet to fulfill the seat.

 

Byakuya, his samurai armour polished and his hair held back in a loosely tied red ribbon, remained stoic at their arrival.

 

“Rukia,” he said. “You are to meet Jushiro at the Thirteenth barracks before the council.”

 

She bowed, “Yes brother.”

 

“Renji.”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

Her friend nodded a goodbye to her before vanishing with his captain, leaving Rukia alone to travel to her own captain’s side. It did not take long, a quick trip as a cold wind and she was at the barracks center in front of her captain’s chambers. She knocked before entering the cool room, avoiding the floating pools of koi. Her captain rested at the back of the room on top his pond, the pisces spirit holding his scroll on his lap and his head drooped in sleep. Rukia sighed, not liking how she had to wake her poor captain, and sent a cold blast of air towards the man. The top of the pool froze over and Jushiro woke with a start, falling from his levitated state to the frozen surface with a  **thud** .

 

“Oh! Rukia!” he looked at her in surprise, “I’m sorry I didn’t notice you come in.”

 

“Forgive me Captain,” she apologised and helped the old man stand on his feet.

 

“No need to apologise, I’m fine. Uh, actually if you would…”

 

Rukia waved her hand and the ice faded, the pool beneath her captain once again rippling under his feet.

 

“Ah, that is better. Now,” he smiled brightly, “What is going on today?”

 

“There has been a Court meeting called to discuss the troubled forest spirits. The meeting will begin in less than twenty minutes.”

 

“Those forest spirits, eh? Yes I’ve noticed how unsettled they’ve been lately. Poor things. Very well Rukia, will you join me in the walk to First company?”

 

“Of course Captain.”

 

The old spirit grinned and walked out of the room, Rukia close in tow. She was careful not to touch the orbs of water or her captain’s coat, her ice power still just out of her control. She was a young spirit, only a few decades awakened, and was still having slight issues completely controlling her abilities. When she touched something, either liquid or thin material, it would freeze over. It was worse when she was nervous or unfocused, and even the training she received from the  _ Hyorinmaru _ did not change it. The stronger ice spirit had promise that she would get the hang of it eventually as long as she continued to practice.

 

Her captain and two third seats, twin spirits, walked along to the First Company barrack center, the captains meeting room doors open. Many more spirits passed by to enter the hall, captains and lieutenants respectfully, all powerful and respectable in their own right. The Court meetings happened rarely, even rarer for everyone to show their faces, which made Rukia wonder just how serious the High Commander was taking the situation.

 

She couldn’t go into the meeting herself, not being a Court officer, and so she would have to wait outside the meeting hall with Kiyone and Sentaro. She wished her captain well as he entered the hall, then stayed herself out of the way and nearer to the wall outside the room.

 

“Rukia!” a voice called.

 

She turned her head and saw a familiar face. A young spirit like herself, the lieutenant of Fifth Company Hinamori smiled as she walked towards Rukia, the bells of her dress jingling merrily. Opposite of Rukia, Momo was a fire type plum spirit  _ Tobiume _ , and an old friend of Renji from his training years.

 

“Lieutenant Hinamori,” Rukia greeted the girl with a bow.

 

“It’s nice to see you again, it’s been so long.”

 

“It has. How have you been?”

 

“Very well, actually. The orchid is especially well off this year, and it’s been so long since we’ve been called to a meeting. I almost didn’t believe it when the call came.”

 

“It is unusual, yes.”

 

“Oh but you must not be surprised. After all you live right before the forest, so you must see those spirits constantly.”

 

“Yes, that’s how we figured something must be wrong. Normally the forest spirits are much more docile than they are now. We don’t know what the problem is, but hopefully this meeting will provide us with a solution.”

 

A deep voice said, “That would be ideal.”

 

Momo’s face lite up, “Captain!” The two female spirits bowed in greeting at the man’s arrival. The captain of Fifth Company Aizen Sosuke was a well revered spirit, as well as a mysterious one. His ability  _ Kyōka Suigetsu _ was said to be a reflective water spirit, one that was able to use fog to change his enemies perspective and trick them into attacking something else. A eerie power in its own right, yes, but the spirit himself was far too passive to fully use the extent of its power.

 

Aizen himself was a well known spirit, whether it was due to his kindly nature or handsome looks Rukia couldn’t tell. Momo, like many others, was infatuated with the man and looked up to him a great deal. Aizen’s own kindness rivaled that of Rukia’s own captain, although the Fifth Company man held a sort of sadness in him. It was said that before Aizen was given the captaincy, his own commander had died mysteriously in an ambush by dark spirits.

 

“Miss Rukia,” he smiled, “It is a pleasure to see you outside of the barracks. Has your captain finally chosen a new lieutenant?”

 

Rukia tried to hide her shame, “No sir, I am only here as an escort for my captain.”

 

Aizen looked surprised, “Oh? Well that’s a shame, I think you’d be a wonderful lieutenant. Your brother would be proud too.”

 

His words were kind, but Rukia felt only weight on her chest. The ground beneath her feet began to frost over. She could deny it, say that what Captain Aizen was saying was wrong and she could never deserve a lieutenancy, but to outright deny a superior spirits praise was outlandish and extremely rude.

 

So she thanked him, “Yes, thank you sir.”

 

The captain smiled and said to Momo, “Come, it’s time for the meeting.”

 

“Yes sir! See you later Rukia.”

  
The two spirits left Rukia, following the growing crowd into the hall, and once again she was alone with her thoughts. Kiyone and Sentaro had gone off on one of their famous arguments, Rukia wisely staying out of their way, and worked on retaining her power until the flooring under her was clear of all ice.


	2. Chapter 2

Renji was never comfortable in meetings. He had been to very few since his promotion, and so he had relied heavily on his more experienced fellows for aid. Momo and Izaru had been lieutenants for years before Renji and had tried their very best in instructing and mentoring their friend on the proper way to act as a lieutenant in the Court Guard. He had quickly gotten the hang of it all, and in the short span of a few decades had earned a name for himself as a spirit. Ironically the very company he handled was commanded by his oldest friends brother, Kuchiki Byakuya Head of the ancient Kuchiki clan. Not only was he now affiliated with one of the most powerful spirit families in Soul Society, but he served directly under the strongest Head, which should put him in a very valuable position.

 

However the moment he stepped into the First Company hall, all that power fell apart in way of the real strength of the Court. Thirteen of the strongest spirits in all the realm gathered under one roof at the command of the strongest spirit in a thousand years. Renji’s own power paled in comparison when compared to any of the captain spirits, their power legendary in the eyes of regular spirits and admired throughout the land. The Court was often called the guardians of the Soul Realm, protectors of spirits and slayers of evil.

 

Quite the expectations to live up to.

 

The High Commander banged his cane on the wooden floor, wisps of flames flying from the tip, to signal the start of the meeting. The ancient spirit looked as old as he was, a long beard and wrinkled face scarred from millennia of battles, his old robes and coat draped over his hunched shoulders, and even from his spot against the wall, Renji could feel the heat of the Commander’s power. For over two thousand years Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni had headed the Court Guard and kept an ever watchful eye on the spirit realm, swearing to guard it from the dark spirits of Hueco Mundo and their ilk. No other entity in existence could match his  _ Ryūjin Jakka _ , the ultimate flame, in power and its destructive capability.

“Kuchiki Byakuya,” the grand spirit spoke, “Give your assessment of these troubled forest spirits.”

 

Renji’s commander stepped forward, “Despite our efforts to gather any information from the rural spirits, they appear too unstable to verify a complete answer. Over the past week the forest has been restless and agitated, leading me to believe that there must be another force at work deeper within the forest’s boundaries.”

 

“Were you able to sense any dangerous entities within the woods?”

 

“No sir, the only oddity I was able to sense was a strong spirit nearer to the center of the forest.”

 

Another captain interrupted, “So what? There are plenty of strong vermin in that forest.”

 

Renji, as well as the other lieutenants and captains, looked at the Twelfth Company commander. Kurotsuchi Mayuri, the poisonous spirit  _ Ashisogi Jizō _ , looked indefinitely unimpressed by Byakuya’s report.

 

Renji’s commander in return, looked at the other spirit in equal distain, “If you think I did not take into account the various possible spirits the cause might be, then you should hold your tongue.”

 

Kurotsuchi would have argued more, but another captain spoke first.

 

“What kind of spirit would you believe it is then, Captain Kuchiki?”

 

Kyoraku Shunsui was one of the older spirits in the Court, an apprentice of the High Commander himself, and the holder of the spirit title  _ Katen Kyōkotsu _ .

 

“It is most likely a wandering spirit,” answered Byakuya. “One that has made it’s way into the forest and lost itself. A spirit that obviously has no idea that the forest they’re residing in is under Sixth Companies protection.”

 

“Very well,” boomed the High Commander. “Captain Kuchiki, you and your lieutenant shall investigate the lost spirit and are responsible for bringing it back before the Court, should it prove dangerous you have full authority to erase it from this world.”

 

“Excuse me sir,” Captain Aizen said. “But doesn’t it seem a bit excessive to send both a captain and lieutenant to find a soul we know nothing about? Sending such a high class party may cause the spirit to become cautious and defensive, putting two of your most valued officers in unnecessary danger.”

 

Renji was genuinely surprised, not many questioned the orders of the High Commander, and even less on the behalf of the safety of two other company men. Yet there was Captain Aizen, speaking up for his and Captain Kuchiki’s own personal safety and openingly questioning the Commander’s decision.

 

“Sosuke, I would be careful,” warned Captain Kyoraku, “You are literally playing with fire.”

 

The other hall occupants stared between the two commanding officers until the Commander spoke.

 

“Your words are wise, Aizen Sosuke, but you would be wiser to not challenge my orders again. Who would you send to investigate this wandering spirit?”

 

“The forest resides just beyond the Kuchiki manor, right? It would be too much to send the Sixth captain for just one spirit, but sending his lieutenant and a lesser officer from the Court to find the spirit would work well.”

 

Captain Aizen glanced to the side for a moment before continuing, “I suggest someone who works well with Lieutenant Abarai and also knows the forest area. Someone who is highly familiar with both and adaptable to quick situations, and perhaps someone who has yet to prove themselves to the Court."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a shorter chapter mostly to introduce new characters and Renji's POV. The next chapters will be longer, I promise.
> 
> Please review and leave a kudo!  
> Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

Rukia could not believe her ears. She swore her captain was messing with her, the tips of her kimono frosting over as her emotions ran wild.

“C-Captain you can’t be serious! I… I couldn’t, I mean I shouldn’t-”

“Calm down Rukia, you will be fine. Your friend Renji will be with you the whole time and it’s only a find and search mission.”

“But my brother would never have agreed-!”

“The High Commander himself agreed to the terms. Think of this as your chance to prove yourself to Byakuya!”

“But I’ve only ever been to the outer rim of the forest, never the center of it and how will I know what to look for?”

Captain Ukitake put his hand on her shoulder, a warm ripple flowing into Rukia, “I have complete faith in you, Rukia.”  
Those words echoed through Rukia, and before she knew it she and Renji were at the edge of the woods. She stood before the tree line, her hands in the cuffs of her sleeves to hide the fidgets, and an effort to avoid turning the grass around her it icicles. Renji and his snake watched her, looks of amusement on their faces.

“Nervous?” he asked.

“N-No! I have been in this forest dozens of times!” she stuttered out.

“Hey if you don’t want to go in I can go by myself,” the snake around Renji’s neck glared at him, “I mean with _Zabimaru_ of course. You can just go home.”

“Don’t tease me. Captain Ukitake gave me this mission and I fully intend to carry it out. Now tell me where my brother sensed this lost spirit.”

“It should be nearer to the center of the forest. Just seach for it yourself, you should be able to sense it from here.”

Rukia did not appreciate the slight sarcasm in her friend’s voice, but ignored it in favour of stretching out her senses. A skill required to be perfected in the Court, a stronger spirit could easily find and identify the soul of others. For Rukia, being an ice spirit made her greatly attuned to other ice and snow type of spirits, just like Renji was more attuned towards animal spirits. She stretched her senses to the point she could feel the center of the forest, feeling several different types of spirits running wild throughout the woods, in the trees and bushes. At the center was a pool of water, tainted by a great spirit. Rukia didn’t recognize the spirit or it’s alignment, so it must have been the wandering spirit the Court was searching for.

“It’s near the forest’s center lake. The wild spirits are weary of it, but some are closely familiar with it.”

“Can you tell what kind it is?”

Rukia shook his head, “No, but it’s strange. It didn’t feel hostile…”

“We’ll know more when we find it. Come on,” Renji vanished in a flash of red, Rukia following closely as a cold wind. They flashed through the forest, careful to avoid contact with the lesser spirits, towards the center and the target spirit. Rukia had never been this deep into the woods before, only ever combing the rim closest to the manor while on patrol. The leaves grew darker, the air thicker, the shadows deeper, the spirits grew wilder and watched the two Court members as they ran closer to the pool.

The closer Rukia got to the center of the forest, the more she could sense the spirit. It was strong, unbelievably strong, for a lost spirit. For a moment Rukia thought one of the captains had beat them to the pool, but none of the captains she knew had a spirit like this. Its energy was heavy and dense, as if they had found a wall in the middle of the forest.

“Hold it,” said Renji. They stopped just before the pool, Renji glaring towards the center.

“Keep your guard up, we don’t know what kind of spirit it is.”

Nodding, Rukia stepped through the tree line and into the open space. The first thing she noticed was that several spirits had collected in the space, fire and weather spirits circulating around the pond, some light and shadow spirits even resting on the lost spirit’s body. The lost spirit in question, was even more surprising. In truth Rukia hadn’t known what to expect, wandering spirits were rare and varied ranging from animal to elemental to human spirits.

This spirit looked like a boy, a young boy in black robes with strange orange hair. He looked like he was asleep near the water, one arm stretched out into the wharf, and the other rested over his chest as he slept. Rukia and Renji approached the boy, unsure of what to make of him, and the spirits that surrounded the boy scurried away as they got closer.

Rukia looked to Renji, who shrugged and notioned to the boy, and she approached closer. Once she was close enough to him she could tell more about him, this spirit was young, perhaps only a few decades old, and was more unconscious than asleep. A large cut on his forehead was lined with dried blood, one of the smaller spirits sitting on it and padding the boy’s brow.

Renji watched vigilantly as Rukia bent down on her knees to check the spirit boy’s vitals, making sure he was still healthy. Something about the young spirit unsettled him however, this many wild spirits rarely took to newcomers in their territory, so why was this boy so different?

Rukia checked his vitals and set her hand on the boy’s forehead, then was thrown back immediately as the young spirit woke with a start.

“GAH!” he cried and bolted up.

Rukia and Renji backed away in caution and watched as the boy held his head and yelled in pain.

“Damn it! That stupid son of a bitch! That hurt! Ow!”

Suddenly he looked around wildly and got to his knees, “Oi! Chad! Uryu! Orihime! Hello!?” He fell down and grumbled, then finally seemed to notice Rukia and Renji, “Hey! You two, have you seen anyone around here lately?”

Too stunned to speak, Rukia only stared at the strange boy while Renji answered, “No, you’re the only one.”

“Damn it, where the heck did they go? Actually…” he looked around at the forest and lingering spirits, “Where am I? This doesn’t look like Karakura woods…”

“Who are you?” Renji asked the boy. “What are you doing in this forest?”

“Hmm? I, uh, don’t actually know. One minute I was with my friends and the next I’m waking up here. Why, who wants to know?”

Renji straightened his back, “Lieutenant Abarai Renji of the Sixth Court Guard Company and officer Lady Kuchiki Rukia of Thirteenth Company. You are trespassing in Sixth Company's territory and will hand yourself over quietly so that we may take you before our High Commander. Now tell us who you are and why you are in this forest.”

“Uh…” the boy stared at him in confusion, “My name is Kurosaki Ichigo.”

“Then you, Kurosaki, are under arrest.”

“What!? Why, I haven’t done anything!”

“You are trespassing on Sixth Company territory without informing the Court of your invasion and we have direct orders from the High Commander himself to bring you in.”

“I’m not going with you people, I don’t even know you!”

“I just told you who we are!”

“Well I don’t care,” the boy, Ichigo, stood up and brush the dirt from his black robes and white collar, “I’m going to go find my friends.”

Renji was before the boy in an instant and grabbed his arm, _Zabimaru_ coiling around and up Ichigo’s arm until it reached the younger’s neck.

“Hey! What the fu-!”

“Like I said, you’re under arrest, kid. Rukia, bind his hands.”

Shaking off her shock, Rukia nodded and waved her hand, ice forming over Ichigo’s hands and binding them together in protest of the boy’s “Hey!”

Ichigo glared at the ice and then at Rukia.

“I said I’m not going with you.”

Rukia noticed the wild spirits had feld suddenly, and felt a dark pressure surround her. Black energy cracked the ice covering Ichigo’s hands, bits of power leaking through the cracks until the ice shattered and his hands were free. The moment the ice broke Rukia felt a stab in her side, an effect from her own power being broken so easily.

Ichigo pushed Renji back and held out his hand “ _Zangetsu_!”

More black energy appeared and flew into the boy’s hand, taking the shape of a large sword with no sheath or guard, white bandages wrapping the hilt. With one swing of the weapon Rukia and Renji were sent flying until they hit the trees, Rukia feeling the breath being knocked out of her. Her white kimono fell around her as she slumped to the ground, her head spinning as the dark energy grew more and more dense in the air.

Renji yelled, “ _Zabimaru_!” before Ichigo could turn and run, the snake around the boy’s neck striking like lightning at the exposed skin and sinking its fangs in. Ichigo let out a yelp of pain before grabbing the snake and throwing it back to Renji, his sword arm raised and ready to strike at them. He stopped however, as the poison from the snake bite ran through his veins and his body began to seize up, Ichigo’s eyes turning up and white.

They watched the boy collapse and the blade vanish back into black energy, Renji sighing in relief and bringing his spirit animal back to rest around his shoulders. He helped Rukia to her feet, the female ice spirit still shaking from the close encounter.

“Renji have you ever…”

“No,” he answered. The lieutenant walked over to Ichigo, making sure the unconscious boy was still breathing, with a hard look on his face. Rukia joined him, standing over the boy and watching him.

“That was dark energy,” she stated.

“Yeah.”

“But I never sensed a dark spirit, and this boy doesn’t look like a dark spirit at all.”

“We’ll bring him back to the High Commander,” Renji hoisted the boy up over his shoulder, _Zabimaru_ coiling around Ichigo and keeping an eye on the spirit. “The captain’s can decide what to do with him then. We’ve done our job.”

Rukia was still bothered, but she followed her superior back through the forest and to the First company barracks. There her captain, brother, Captain Aizen, and the High Commander waited for their return to the meeting hall, Renji placing Ichigo on the ground before the Court’s high members.

Renji and Rukia bowed before the High Commander.

“Sir,” Renji reported, “We located and subdued the mysterious spirit from the forest center. He said his name is Kurosaki Ichigo.”

The old captain’s eyes rested on Ichigo’s sleeping body.

“What was the purpose of this spirit’s encroachment?”

“He didn’t say, only that he did not know how he ended up in Sixth Company territory, and seemed surprised to find himself there. He was unconscious when we found him, but attacked us when I tried to arrest him and so I was forced to subdue him forcefully.”

“Hmm… What kind of spirit is he?”

“... We don’t know sir. He attacked before we could get an answer out of him, but he used dark energy and said the word “ _Zangetsu_ ” before attacking us with a sword made of black energy.”

“‘ _Slaying Moon_ ’, hmm? Lieutenant Abarai, are you able to wake the boy at the moment?”

“No sir, _Zabimaru_ ’s poison sleep attack lasts for a full hour.”

“Very well. The spirit child will be brought to Fourth Company and placed under the care of Captain Unohana. The moment he wakes we will immediately begin the interrogations. You will both await further orders in your own barracks. Dismissed!”

Rukia left with her captain, after bidding Renji and her brother farewell, Captain Aizen bringing the spirit boy to Fourth Company, and followed him back to Thirteenth Company. Her mind was running a thousand miles a minute, thinking curiously about the Kurosaki boy and what kind of spirit he could be.

“Something on your mind, Rukia?”

She jumped at her captain’s question, “N-No! I mean! I’m sorry sir, it is just that spirit. When we searched I never sensed a trace of dark energy, but the power he used was just…”

“It’s alright. It was your first time with a new spirit, I’m sure you did what you could and now you know for next time. You did well Rukia.”

She felt her face heat up at the praisal, and hid her face behind her sleeve in embarrassment. Jushiro smiled.

After nearly a half hour, alarms rang throughout the Seireitei. The Court was thrown into a panic, and the body of Aizen Sosuke was found embedded in the wall of the detention cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you couldn't tell, this au is still following the basics of canon with just a dash of difference. If you have any questions please feel free to send me them, I'd be happy to answer. Also there will be more posted later since I already have quite a lot written out.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

The captains were assembled and Unohana Retsu, the spirit of _Minazuki_ , gave her report to the High Commander and her fellow captains.

“Captain Aizen had brought the spirit to my barracks. According to Lieutenant Abarai, Zabimaru’s poison should have lasted an hour, but not twenty minutes later the boy woke and disappeared from my ward. Many of my own spirits had been found unconscious, and I followed his energy signature to Fifth Company where Lieutenant Hinamori discovered the body of Aizen Sosuke. I performed the autopsy myself, Captain Aizen was killed by a spirit blade with leftover traces of the spirit Kurosaki Ichigo.”

“Oh dear,” muttered Third company captain, Ichimaru Gin. “To think that that little boy would have the strength to kill a captain.”

“This is not joking matter, Ichimaru.”

The young Tenth Company Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro, his proud ultimate ice spirit _Hyōrinmaru_ , glared at the fox man. The blue X scar on the ice spirit’s face and his robes, slightly crisped over with a thin layer of snow, all fitted the young man’s regal attitude. He was the youngest captain, but as strong and respectable as his older comrades.

“Oh do forgive me Captain Hitsugaya,” Ichimaru continued. “I only meant to point out that it took one simple lieutenant to subdue the boy, and yet somehow he was able to kill one of our very own commanding officers.”

Hitsugaya glared at the white haired spirit, suspicion plastered on his young face.

“How was this even possible? Abarai said that his sleep poison lasted one full hour and yet this spirit child was able to wake after only half of one?” Captain Soi Fon, commander of the Second Company. A dangerous spirit, she was well known for her speed and _Suzumebachi_ ’s two step kill ability. Her black and yellow stinger finger shined in the light, the white tufts of fur on her collarbone perfectly groomed.

“Perhaps the lieutenants ability is not as potent he proclaims it to be?” suggested Mayuri.

“No,” Unohana rejected. “I have tested _Zabimaru_ ’s spell myself, even against a captain it would hold for just over fifty minutes.”

“Then the boy was given an antidote! Bring Abarai in here!”

Byakuya glared stone faced at the mad spirit, “My lieutenant was at my side when Kurosaki escaped. If you are insinuating that he has betrayed his position than you are insulting my own company.”

“Enough,” ordered Yamamoto. “Whether this is the fault of Lieutenant Abarai or officer Kuchiki it does not matter. As of now the spirit Kurosaki Ichigo and all those affiliated with him are to be brought to await trial and execution before the Court. These Ryoka are not to be taken lightly, and I am granting the use of full force in order to bring them to justice for the murder of Fifth Company Captain Aizen Sosuke. Find these Ryoka, by any means necessary!”

* * *

Ichigo had been searching for days through the damn forest, with no luck in sight.

He swore and kicked a log over the treetops and into the distance before giving in and falling to the ground on his butt. He huffed in frustration, then gathered himself into a cross legged position and closed his eyes. He stretched his senses to as far as he could, through the forest and past the hills beyond until he see all the miles around him. To the north was the Seireitei, home to those crazy Court spirits that had tried to arrest him, to the east was only more forest and a lake, the west lead into wild lands, and the south became a plain like wilderness dotted with farms. He sensed thousands of spirits, all of different species and types and sizes, scattered throughout the land. None of them were the ones he was looking for, which meant he was still nowhere near Karakura, which was where he had last been before that jackass spirit knocked him into the atmosphere.

Just the thought of the man made Ichigo’s blood boil. He had tried to be civil with other hollow’s, he really had, but sometimes they could just be so annoying. But he had a promise to keep, and it wasn’t for lack of trying that Ichigo nearly lost his head to the rival spirit. He was still having a terrible time controlling the power.

The spirits in Seireitei were going crazy from what Ichigo could sense. They were angry, and confused, but mostly angry. Ichigo could taste the blood lust coming from one of them particularly well, and a shudder ran through him.

_Lucky I got out of there when I did_ , he thought. He still had no idea what that snake spirit had done to him, but one moment he was ready send his would-be abductors flying, the next he was waking up in a medical ward and being held down by strangers. The young spirit looked at his hands, black and red energy leaking from his skin in fiery wisps. He hadn’t meant to leave in the middle of training, but he and his friends had wanted some real world experience and thought a day in the outer woods might give them exactly that.

His teacher had warned him that it would still be a while until he abilities stabilized. He, and his friends too, was only newly awakened, barely three months old, as a full spirit entity. Before then they had all been living under the assumption that they were completely human, and none of them were even close to mastering their new powers.

Ichigo hadn’t meant to call on _Zangetsu_ when he faced the Court spirits, but he had panicked and the call came so easily to him. Having his blade in his hand made him feel complete and whole, unlike the half form he was currently in. Ichigo wondered for a split second if unleashing his other half would really be so bad, and quickly slapped himself for even thinking about it. His teachers, all of them, had warned and banned him again and again from unleashing the other half while his first was still developing. The power could tear him apart or worse, drive him mad.

Movement to the left caught Ichigo’s attention, snapping out of the concentration and his eyes darting towards the sound. He was ready to call on his blade once again that day, when out of the bushes came a small fox spirit, red and white fur and pearly blue eyes. The _kitsune_ sniffed the air and approached Ichigo, curiosity in its eyes as the creature sniffed and licked Ichigo’s hand.

Patting the _kitsune_ on the head, Ichigo said to it “Hey little guy. What are you doing out here by yourself?”

The animal spirit looked at him and then back to the bush.

“Is there something else there?”

The fox growled and leapt at the bush, disappearing into the leaves. Ichigo heard more growls, a yelp, and then nothing.

“Hey! _Kitsune_! Are you okay?” Ichigo stood and approached the bush, when out padded the small fox with a prize in it’s jaw. Ichigo watched as the _kitsune_ placed its kill in front of him, a pure white snake. The animal spirit looked to Ichigo, who smiled awkwardly and thanked the spirit for the gift.

“Uh, thanks? I didn’t think that _kitsune_ like snakes,” he bent down to pick up the kill, thinking that even though he wasn’t very sure on how to eat it, that the snake could make a decent dinner. He grabbed the thing by its tail and looked at the fox, “Do you want some too?”

The _kitsune_ wagged it fluffy tail, which Ichigo took for a ‘yes’. He shrugged, and made to summon his sword when the snake came to life and bite his hand. “OW!” he yelled and dropped the serpent. The snake hissed at him and slithered back into the bush faster than Ichigo could step on it. The _kitsune_ barked at the retreating creature then looked to Ichigo, who was holding his bitten hand in pain.

“That’s the second time today I’ve been bite by a snake! What the hell is wrong with those things!?” he looked at his hand and cursed, “I really hope that thing wasn’t poisonous.”

The _kitsune_ scoffed and licked his hand, then shook its head.

“So not poisonous, eh? Well that’s good to know.”

White bandages appeared over the bite, wrapping around Ichigo’s hand and stopping the blood flow. He sighed and looked to the fox, “Sorry, no dinner tonight.”

It’s ears dropped and it whined, making Ichigo feel terrible for losing his and his new friends meal. He looked around, searching for the nearest water source.

“Well, there is a lake not too far from here, I guess I could fish something. Assuming there aren’t any vicious spirits inhabiting it…”

It was enough for the _kitsune_ , the small fox jumping to its paws and its tail wagging in anticipation. Ichigo smiled at the thing and stood up.

“Alright then. West we go.”

* * *

Kisuke wasn’t worried.

He wasn’t. Not in the slightest despite what Yoruichi insisted. He had complete faith in his student and his abilities, Ichigo would be back in Karakura before they knew it. That’s what he had been telling himself for the past three days.

The others were not so convinced.

Ishida Uryu fully blamed Urahara for his cousin’s disappearance, the hunting spirit having zero faith in the shop keeper from day one.

Sado Yasutora, a silent half hollow spirit, was his usual calm self with complete faith that Ichigo would indeed return, but still blamed Urahara for his friends shortcoming none the less.

The only one who didn’t seem to hold the boy’s disappearance over was Inoue Orihime, a light spirit with remarkable healing abilities. True to a light spirits passive nature, Miss Inoue saw little fault in anyone and did not hold Ichigo’s vanishment over his teacher. She had complete faith that he would come back to Karakura.

She was just about the only one.

“Still can’t believe ya lost him.”

Urahara looked to his guest, a fellow teacher, Hirako Shinji. The old spirit turned Vizard was sipping a cup of coffee, very displeased with the news Urahara had given him. Hirako had been mentoring Ichigo for nearly a month now, the boy integrating well into Hirako’s own posse of fellow Vizards. They were, after all, the closest thing the boy had to kin.

“I never said I lost him, I only don’t know where he is.”

“Sounds pretty lost ta me, Kisuke. Ain’t ya worried someone or something else might find him?”

“I have faith in Mr. Kurosaki’s abilities. He’s stronger than he looks.”

“Not what I meant. We ain’t exactly far from the enemy here.”

“The Court won’t find him if that’s what you’re worried about. Ichigo knows to stay away from them.”

“It ain’t just the Court I’m worried that’ll find him, or have ya forgotten about who live there?”

Urahara had not forgotten indeed. How could he? After being banished for a crime he didn’t commit, on account of one sneaky lieutenant, how could he ever forget about what might be the most dangerous entity in all the realms; Aizen Sosuke.

Try as he might to hide his student from Aizen’s line of sight, Urahara wasn’t even able to hide himself from the traitor’s eyes. Not that Ichigo’s ridiculous spiritual energy made it any easier. Shinji wasn’t aware of it, he never really bothered himself with delving more into what kind of spirit his old subordinate may be, and so he most likely didn’t realize that Aizen knew perfectly well where they all were. He just never chose to do anything about it.

It was like living under a guillotine.

“Meh,” Kisuke shrugged it off, “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“He better be. I’m not gonna be the one explaining ta Mashiro why her favourite hakuda partner ain’t home yet.”

“You really should give the boy a bit more credit, Mr. Hirako. I think you’re forgetting just how formidable Ichigo can be.”

“I know exactly what the kid’s capable of, and that’s what’s worrying me. A spirit like him ain’t exactly something the Court is keen on keeping alive, ya know.”

A knock at the door stopped the conversation.

“Come in,” Kisuke called. The shōji door slid open to reveal Inoue Orihime, the young light spirit’s long kimono dress and hair ribbons spilling over her as the girl peeked her head into the room.

“Excuse me Mr. Urahara, Mr. Shinji, but Ms. Yoruichi was wondering if you would be joining us for practice today?”

Kisuke looked at Shinji, who shrugged, and smiled, “I don’t see why not. We’ll be right there~!”

The girl nodded and retreated back behind the door.

Shinji huffed, “Still don’t see why yer encouraging her.”

“Miss Inoue has every right to want to get stronger, just like her friends.”

“Yeah but spirits like Inoue ain’t exactly fighting types. She won’t be able ta go ta the front lines if a battle breaks out.”

“Of course,” agreed Kisuke. “But her gifts are still quite extraordinary and it would be a waste to let them grow dull, don’t you think?”

Deciding not to answer, Shinji followed his old friend down into the training ground beneath the shop. For years Shinji wondered just how Kisuke managed to build something like it under the town, or when he had time to. Shinji noticed several new changes to the grounds, one being a massive crevice sliced through the ground. To the distance were the newly awakened spirits, each practicing their own unique abilities.

Ishida, the _Quincy_  spirit, was facing off against Yoruichi, using the cat spirit as target practice as the two vanished and reappeared in different places. To Shinji the bespeckled boy was nothing special, he’d seen other hunter spirits before and they were much more impressive, but to Urahara he was very interesting. Ishida was said to be the last of his clan, an ancient society of dark spirit hunters who had been wiped out by the Court many centuries ago. Uryu’s own spirit weapon, a bow made of pure blue energy, was able to completely erase a dark spirit from existence, the exact opposite of any other spirit weapon Kisuke had come by in his many years.

The other boy too, was remarkably interesting. Sado was a born foreign spirit, not commonly found in this region of Japan, but somehow had adjusted perfectly to meet the area’s reishi properties. He was a spirit of unnatural strength, his power flowing from his arm instead of a weapon, and capable of immense destructive power. What bother Kisuke about this particular spirit child was the origin of his power, it wasn’t exactly from this realm but that of a hollow, a dark spirit. Yet he wasn’t like Ichigo and Shinji, where his _shinigami_ spirit met with a hollow one, and more like a human spirit that had the power of a hollow.

Lastly was Miss Inoue. Unlike her friends her abilities were most definitely not meant for battle, yet she made up for it in defensive power. The princess spirit was able to create a shield that could be near impenetrable, and had healing capabilities that surpassed everything Kisuke knew about medical spells and healing spirits. He had seen the girl perform feats of miracles, all that power steaming from the glass clips she wore over either ear; her last gift from her brother. The only drawback Kisuke could tell about her was that her abilities seemed to feed on her emotions, if she felt strongly about protecting a friend from an attack, her shield could not be broken. But if she was unsure and her emotions failed her, that power could be easily shattered.

Combined with Ichigo, the four made a formidable force to be reckoned with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is, again, mostly character introduction. I wasn't sure what to do with the other Karakura kids so I've decided to alternate between certain characters POV's to tell the story.
> 
> Thank you for the kudos!


	5. Chapter 5

Renji was having a terrible week.

There had been a funeral for Captain Aizen, a podium placed in Fifth Company in honour of the fallen spirit, and the guilt weighed on Renji as if a mountain had been placed on his shoulders. It was his fault, no matter what Rukia or Captain Unohana said, that the man had died, that Momo had lost her teacher, that the Court had lost a powerful ally.

_Zabimaru_ curled around him in comfort and stroked Renji’s cheek, an apology for failing to meet its maters standards. Renji didn’t know why the poison hadn’t held and honestly he didn’t want to. His own ability falling short meant that he was weaker than he thought, and that weakness got his old captain killed.

He punched the wall in frustration, letting his anger out in a way only an ex-Eleventh Company man knew. _Damn Ryoka_ , he thought in anger. If they hadn’t brought the spirit in then none of this would have happened. Why had it been in the forest in the first place!? What had it been planning, and why did it use dark energy?

The simple thought of that Ryoka boy set a fire in Renji’s eyes.

“I swear,” he said to himself, “I swear I’ll find that damn Ryoka and make him pay for what he’s done!”

“Renji,” Rukia’s soft voice echoed in his head. He looked to the open door and there she was, her white kimono and yellow-green obi tied around her with a large pale purple bow, a blue star shaped hair clip keeping her dark bangs out of her face. Where she touched the door frost formed, an equally cold look on her beautiful face.

“Are you coming with me or not?” she asked him.

“Depends on where you’re going,” Renji answered.

“I’m going after the Ryoka. He needs to be brought to justice, and we were the ones who arrested him. This is our responsibility.”

He eyed the wall in front of him, “Then I guess you know exactly where he’ll be, eh?”

“Karakura Woods.”

Renji looked at his friend in slight confusion, “What?”

“That’s where he said he was from, so that is where he’ll return to. We’ll find him there and then we can arrest him and bring him back before the High Commander. Only this time we’ll make sure he is subdued.”

He was surprised by the venom in Rukia’s voice. Normally she was calm and collected, her anger only getting the better of her when she grew tired and snapped. Now Rukia looked ready to hunt.

Renji didn’t understand the change but he did understand her words.

“Yeah,” he nodded.

Rukia smiled lightly and walked away from Renji’s quarters, the lieutenant following her closely and out of the barracks. Karakura Woods was about two days from the Seireitei, even in flash form, and it had been nearly three since the Ryoka boy had escaped. They would need to hurry if they were going to catch him, and they had no idea just how far the rogue spirit could go while under pressure.

Perhaps the only good to come out of meeting the Ryoka was that now Renji had a keen sense on what it’s energy tasted like. _Zabimaru_ still had the fresh taste of the boy’s spirit energy, and Renji could use that to track the Ryoka easily (assuming he was still within a certain range). His snake looped around his arm, holding its head up and looking left to right then nodding.

“This way,” Renji said to Rukia. The crossed the Seireitei into the south, following _Zabimaru_ ’s nose and deep into the woods. They passed by a scorched patch of grass and tree trunks, bits of black fire burning on the remains of a bush. The snake lead them further into the woods, turning west and towards a lake.

“He’s there,” said Rukia. Renji stretched his senses towards the lake, feeling out for the Ryoka. Sure enough as soon as they reached the tree line to the lake, _Zabimaru_ hissed and pointed its head.

“Ready?” he asked Rukia.

His companion nodded and muttered “Sode no Shirayuki.” A cold hiss of frost and Rukia had summoned her spirit blade, pure white _zanpaku-tō_ that looked to be made of ice rather than steel, a long white ribbon flowing from the hilt.

Rukia glared at the tree line, “Ready.”

They crept out of the tree line ready to ambush the Ryoka, but what they found caught them off guard. Standing in front of them, tail fluffed and teeth bared, was a _kitsune_ pup. _Zabimaru_ hissed and slithered up to Renji’s head as the pup yelped and growled at them. Rukia and Renji each took a step back, knowing that where there was a _kitsune_ pup there was bound to be a _kitsune_ mother, and even members of the Court knew better than to mess with a pissed off fully matured _kitsune_.

The pup continued to growl, which would have been cute if it wasn’t a warning to back off, when a voice called,

“Hey! _Kitsune_! Where did you go!?”

From the trees to their left walked the Ryoka boy, Kurosaki Ichigo, his black cloak and white collar softly blowing in the light wind. The pup barked at Renji one more time before running to the Ryoka, Kurosaki looking the pup softly.

“There you are, what are you doing over here…”

Kurosaki stopped and stared at them, Renji and Rukia frozen in their spot, and then the Ryoka vanished along with the fox pup.

“HEY!” Renji yelled and took off after the rogue. A cold blast of air tod him Rukia was right behind him, and he notioned to the left. The air vanished to the side and made off, the idea was to cut the Ryoka off and either freeze him solid or use _Zabimaru_ to catch him. Renji followed the trail of dark energy the Ryoka left behind, a black blur in the distance as Kurosaki flashed through the trees. The boy was fast, noted Renji, much faster than had been anticipated, and Renji had to strain his power just to keep up.

“ _Hakuren_!” he heard Rukia shout. A blast of ice created a wall in front of the Ryoka, cutting off his escape route. However Kurosaki merely jumped over the wall and continued to run, a blast of lightning like black energy shattering the ice as he touched it.

Gritting his teeth Renji summoned his own blade, “ _Zabimaru_.” And used the whip-like weapon to encircle Kurosaki like a rope. He pulled back hard and the rope tightened around Kurosaki, the boy yelling in surprise and cursing loudly.

Rukia and Renji surrounded the boy, who was struggling against Renji’s blade.

“What the hell is wrong with you people!?” he yelled at them. The _kitsune_ on top his head curling in on itself in caution.

“Quiet,” Rukia pointed the tip of her sword at the Ryoka’s throat.

“Why the hell are you attacking me? I haven’t done anything!”

“Liar,” Rukia snapped.

“I’m not lying! What the fuck would I lie? You’re the ones who keep attacking me I’m just trying to get home!”

“You are a liar! You have betrayed the Soul Society and murdered the captain of Fifth Company!”

Kurosaki looked at her like Rukia was insane, “Murder-! I haven’t killed anyone! What are you talking about!?”

“Stop lying! Your spirit energy was found on Captain Aizen’s body and he was killed by a spirit blade!”

“I didn’t kill anybody, I don’t even know who that is!”

“Tell us why you killed him!”

“Rukia!” Renji yelled at her, “Enough! Yelling isn’t going to get us any answers.”

She looked like she was about to argue but remained silent, choosing instead to glare coldly at the Ryoka. Kurosaki returned the glare, as did the _kitsune_.

“Listen boy,” Renji started, “You are to be tried with the murder of Captain Aizen of Fifth Company, and will await trial by the hands of Central 46. You have no rights and no power to resist this arrest and will face punishment.”

_Zabimaru_ slithered down Renji’s hand to face the boy, Kurosaki leaning away from the serpent.

“I swear-” he said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never killed one of your captains and I only ran because you were going to arrest me again! I don’t know who this Aizen guy is and I’ve never met him before, I just woke up in a bed surrounded by court spirits and ran! I’m sorry if I hurt anyone but I need to get back home!”

Renji was going to repeat himself, when his snake turned to him and hissed. Staring at the spirit in disbelief, Renji could only say:

“Huh?”

_Zabimaru_ spoke to him again and caused only more confusion to Renji.

“What!?”

“Renji, what are you doing?” asked Rukia.

His mouth open and looking between his spirit and the Ryoka, Renji tried again to make sure he had heard _Zabimaru_ right.

“Are you sure? Maybe he’s just really good at lying?”

Ssssssth

“Seriously!?”

“Renji!”

Gritting his teeth and forcing himself to answer his friend, Renji said “He’s telling the truth.”

“WHAT!?”

“The Ryoka is telling the truth! He doesn’t know anything about Captain Aizen. Shit!”

Rukia stared at him like he was crazy, then looked at Kurosaki who had a smirk on his face.

“See?” said the Ryoka. “Your weird snake thing knows I’m being honest.”

“It’s not a weird snake thing! It’s me! My other spirit side!”

“Then what kind of spirit are you? A chimera?”

“What!? No! I’m the Two King spirit, baboon and snake king _Zabimaru_!”

“So you’re a monkey.”

A vein popped on Renji’s forehead, “Why you little-!”

Rukia interrupted before the man could snap, “Enough, both of you. Listen Ryoka, it doesn't matter if what you say is true. We still have to bring you back to the Seireitei.”

“What!? Why?”

“Whether you’re innocent or not is not our decision. We have orders to bring you back by any means necessary from the High Commander.”

“But I haven’t done anything! Just let me go!”

“Renji,” Rukia notioned to start walking. The two began to walk back towards the Seireitei, Renji dragging Kurosaki behind him with his sword still bound around the boy. Kurosaki struggled against the binds, trying to break them or undo the bond but to no avail.

The Ryoka cursed and continued to struggle to the point his body began to shake, Renji keeping an eye on his prisoner as he continued walking.

“Shit,” he heard the Ryoka curse, “D-Damn it. Not now. Just-! Stay down.”

“Hey!” Renji yelled at the boy, “Stop struggling. You won’t be breaking my sword anytime soon so just-!”

He stopped. Black fire-like energy was spilling from the Ryoka, red tinged and as deep as a shadow. Kurosaki was struggling, but not against Renji’s sword. More and more energy flew from him, the boys black cloak whipping wildly as the wind picked up around him, rattling the blades around him. Renji nearly choked as the binding between his blade snapped and Kurosaki was freed but still kneeling in his spot.

“Stop it,” muttered the Ryoka. “Not now, I still have control.”

Renji and Rukia watched, unable to move, as a vortex of black and red energy erupted around Kurosaki, the boy still muttering and holding his head between his hands. Renji blocked the energy from himself, Rukia copying him and holding her own blade up to protect herself from the whirlwind of power.

A feeling of dread crept up Renji’s spin, a feeling not unlike the one he had felt once before from his training years. An energy that could only belong to one kind of spirit…

“Hollow."

* * *

 

It was as if the gods themselves were punishing her. Forcing her to relive that night again and again like a curse for her to endure for all eternity.

Her blade shattered and vanished from existence as she looked and stared as the boy before her, already to much like  _ him _ , be consumed by that evil power. Kurosaki muttered to himself, covered in hollow energy, as the whirlpool grew and battered against Rukia. She nearly hide her face to avoid seeing what was about to happen. She couldn’t live through that again, never again.

But the energy started to disperse, and soon the vortex was gone completely leaving only the Kurosaki boy huffing and fighting for breath.

The  _ kitsune _ pup, having hid itself behind Renji’s leg, sniffed and cautiously approached the boy, checking his scent and forcing its head under the boy’s hand as it whined for attention. Rukia watched as the Ryoka caught his breath and, sweat on his brow, smiled at the kit.

“Sorry about that,  _ kitsune _ ,” he swallowed a breath, “I’m okay now.”

He turned to Rukia and Renji, and a mortified look crossed his face.

“I-. I can explain.”

He glanced away, and vanished in a blur of black and red taking the kit with him.

Renji yelled for him to stop but didn’t follow and looking at Rukia, who was still frozen, literally, to the ground. She dropped to her knees, the memories still so fresh in her mind, and shut her violet eyes in hope to push the nightmare away and back into the depths of her consciousness.

“Rukia,” her friend said quietly. Renji knelt next to her, watching her carefully and slowly putting a hand on her shoulder. A single tear fell from her eye, freezing over as it fell down her cheek.

She shook her head, throwing off the tear, and wiped her eyes dry. The images were fading, falling back to where they belonged, replaced with new ones, and a new objective.

“I’m alright,” she told Renji.

“You don’t look alright to me.”

“I’m fine. I just… We need to find the Ryoka.”

“He didn’t go far. Flashed a couple of yards then stopped, I can still sense him from here. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

She stood and summoned her blade once again, “Yes.”

“... You know if he is being honest, then we don’t have a real reason to arrest him.”

“What? Renji what are you saying?”

“ _ Zabimaru _ could tell he wasn’t lying, Kurosaki knew nothing about Captain Aizen’s death, so what we all thought was wrong.”

“But we still have orders to bring him in.”

“I know, I know it’s just…”

Rukia studied her friends face, “Renji what are you thinking?”

“If the Ryoka didn’t kill Captain Aizen then someone else did. Which means we might have a traitor in the Court Guard.”

His words washed over Rukia like a wave, and dread filled her entire being. Renji looked away from her and towards the woods.

“If the Court’s been betrayed, and the traitor tried to frame the Ryoka then the only way to lure them out is with his help. Captain Aizen must have seen something, Rukia, or else why would the traitor kill him and then blame the spirit he was in charge of?”

“Renji, do you realize what you’re saying? Didn’t you feel that spirit energy?”

“Of course I know what I’m saying, but it’s the only lead we have.”

“So you would rely on a hollow for help!?”

He looked defeated, but Renji nodded, “If it means exposing Captain Aizen’s killer then yes, I’d ask a hollow for help. What about you Rukia?”

His question was like a slap to her face. Strange when she was usually the one giving the slaps and not receiving them, but something in Renji’s voice resonated in Rukia. She remembered what Captain Ukitake had said before the alarms had sounded:

_ “You should thank Captain Aizen when you get the chance, by the way.” _

_ Rukia looked at her captain in confusion, “Sir?” _

_ “If it wasn’t for his help the High Commander would never had let you and Lieutenant Abarai go on the mission. He was very generous and suggested you personally for the job. He had a lot of faith in you.” _

Rukia never got the chance to thank the Fifth commander, and she never would, but if she could find his killer and bring them to justice then it would be a close second.

“Even if it means working with a hollow,” she stated.

Renji smirked and Rukia smiled, then she turned to frost and flashed into the forest. Renji had been right, Kurosaki hadn’t gone far and they soon found him in the middle of a charred clearing. Kurosaki sat in the middle of the wreckage, holding his arm and wrapping bandages around his hand and wrist. The  _ kitsune _ sat near him, its ears dropped and watching its master closely, unaffected by the remains of black fire.

Kurosaki sensed them and turned around, then began to back away.

“H-Hey! Listen I didn’t mean to lose it like that! It was an accident and I didn’t mean to hurt anyone! J-Just leave me alone, please!”

Renji released his sword, the blade vanishing into red energy, and  _ Zabimaru _ kept its head down as Renji raised his hands, “Relax kid, we’re not going to attack you. We just want to talk this time.”

Kurosaki didn’t look convinced, “Yeah right, that’s what you say just before you use some kind of attack to bind me again!”

“We’re serious. Rukia, put your sword away.”

She felt naked without  _ Sode no Shirayuki _ , but relinquished the weapon and held up her bare hands like Renji.

“There see?”

Kurosaki looked back and forth between them before relaxing into a sitting position.

“Fine, but if either of you try anything I swear I won’t hold back.”

“Deal. Now,” Renji and Rukia sat across from the boy, “Tell us why you ran from Fourth Company.”

“I got kidnapped,” Kurosaki answered, using his finger to play with the kit, “Why wouldn’t I run from a strange place that was holding me against my will?”

“So you were the one who knocked out those Fourth members?” Rukia asked.

“Yeah. I’m sorry if any of them got hurt, but I had to get out of there and they were trying to stop me. So I did what I had to get out.”

“Why would a hollow miss the chance to kill a dozen shinigami spirits?”

The Ryoka looked at her, confusion written all over his face.

“I’m not a hollow.”

“Then what was that spirit energy you produced back there? I know what a dark spirit feels like and that is exactly what I felt coming from you.”

“I… I can’t explain that. But I’m not a hollow, not completely anyway, and I don’t eat souls if that’s your next question. I’m just a spirit, that’s all.”

“Then your spirit is  _ Zangetsu _ ,” said Renji.

Kurosaki nodded and held out his hand, the black blade appearing like it had before, “I haven’t been a real spirit for long, so calling on  _ Zangetsu _ was like an instinct. I’m not very good at controlling my spirit energy either, and sometimes because of its nature I lose control briefly.”

That didn’t make sense to Rukia. She herself was a young spirit, but she still had control enough to summon her blade on her own terms.

“When was your awakening?” she asked him.

“Just under three months ago. I’m still in the middle of my training, actually… What?”

Renji nearly fell over, and the air in front of Rukia snapped into a burst of snow. They stared in shock at the Ryoka, unable to fully comprehend what he had just said.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that!?”

“That’s impossible!” Renji pointed at the Ryoka, “There is no way a spirit with that much power is only three months old! You’re making that up!”

“No I’m not! So I have a lot of spirit energy, so do you two and all those other Court spirits!”

“Yeah but we’re not three months old! You must be a freak or something because there is no way a spirit that young has that much energy.”

“Why would I lie about something like that? I’m serious I just awakened two months ago and I was in the middle of training when I got knocked into the woods! It’s not weird!”

“So you’re a newly formed hollow spirit who just happens to have the spiritual energy of a captain class entity.”

“I’m not a hollow!”

“Then what the hell are you!? You’re making no sense!”

“I’m a v-! I’m just a spirit with hollow-like energy that’s all. It’s not a rare thing, lots of spirits produce dark type energy.”

Rukia watched as the two continued to bicker, weirded out by the complete mood change, when she noticed the bandages slip from Kurosaki’s wrist. She looked closer, curious, and saw something peculiar.

“What happened to your hand?”

Kurosaki stopped mid-snap back and looked at his injured hand.

“This? It was just a snake bite. It’s not poisonous so it’ll heal soon enough.”

“May I?” she held out one hand and gestured to his. The kit by Kurosaki eyed her and padded over to Rukia and watched her.

Kurosaki, trusting the animal spirit, shrugged, “Sure, I guess.”

Rukai took his wrist and unwrapped the bandage. The Ryoka’s hands were rough and battered as if he was constantly rubbing thorns in them, and Rukia studied the bite closely. There were two puncture wounds, small and already scabbing over, but from where the wounds started trails of dark purple laced through the boy’s hand and slightly up his wrist.

“Are you sure it wasn’t poisonous?” she questioned.

“Pretty sure.  _ Kitsune _ didn’t have a problem licking it when the bite was fresh and it doesn’t really hurt.”

“Did the veins look like this earlier?”

“... No, but it’s probably an effect from losing control over my energy. The marks only started showing after that.”

Rukia wasn’t convinced, it didn’t seem like any curse Rukia knew of. If they had a member of Fourth with them they might be able to tell more about the markings.

Kurosaki pulled his hand away, “Anyway, why the sudden change in formalities? A couple minutes ago you were trying to freeze me to death. What’s changed?”

She shared a look with Renji, both of them wondering just how much they could tell the Ryoka without revealing everything.

“We believe that you didn’t kill Captain Aizen,” Renji started to explain, “But you were the last one to be in contact with him, which means you’re our only lead in finding his real killer.”

The boy nodded, petting the kit on its head, “Look, I’d like to help but I don’t even remember anything about the guy. All I remember is falling on my face and then waking up in a bed.”

“Then at least come to the Seireitei and help us testify your innocence,” said Rukia. “If the Court is convinced that you are not the killer than we can put our efforts into finding the real traitor.”

“...you’re joking right? I can’t go to Seireitei.”

“Why not!? You’re the only lead we have, we need your help with this!”

“Too bad! I’m not going anywhere but back to Karakura. My family and friends are probably wondering where I am, I don’t know how long I’ve been gone my dad’s probably freaking out. My teacher’s are probably furious,” a look of dread passed over his face, “Oh gods, Hiyori’s going to kill me!”

Rukia did not know who “Hiyori” was but the thought of the woman seemed to terrify Kurosaki, who was fretting over something else Rukia couldn’t fully understand and muttering about a “super-trainer” and “surprise attacks”.

_ Enough _ , she thought and snapped the Ryoka out of his muttering.

“Then how about we make a deal,” she said. “We’ll go to Karakura with you so you can assure your family of your safety, then you will come back to the Seireitei with us to speak before Central 46.”

“Hell no.”

Rukia stuttered, her words stuck in her mouth from disbelief, “W-What?”

“I said no, I can’t bring Court spirits to my home. How do I know I can trust you?”

“I just said we would let you go back to your home!”

“Exactly! How do I know this isn’t trick so you Court spirits can find my family and arrest them too?”

“That is absurd! Why would we do that?”

“I don’t know!”

“Then why are you accusing us of it!?”

“Because a couple of strangers are trying to convince me to lead them to my home before they take me back to the place they originally kidnapped me to and the same place I was accused for murder! Who in their right mind would trust you two?”

The  _ kitsune _ pup moved from Kurosaki and yelped at Rukia, running to her lap and leaping on her. Rukia tried to shoo the kit off of her but the thing was restless and demanded her attention.

Kurosaki looked at the pup and sighed, “Fine. I’ll take you to Karakura.”

“Seriously?” Renji said. “The fox just gives you a look and you change your mind?”

“Well... I mean  _ kitsune _ tend to be good judges of character, and it hasn’t lead me wrong yet. So okay, I go back to Karakura, then I help you with the whole trial thing.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally got to upload this mega chapter! Finally some more character background for Ichigo and his team up with Rukia and Renji! Whoo! If you can't tell I've sort of fallen in love this my kitsune insert, but I swear to you I have bigger plans than simply giving Ichigo an animal friend *hint hint*, and yes! Aizen is still "dead" but we are getting closer and closer to his "killer" and more in depth with the plot.  
> Next chapter I am introducing a new POV from a fan favourite character so I hope you're as excited as I am! Thank you to everyone who has been leaving Kudo's and continuing to read this fic, I really love you all!


	6. Chapter 6

The whole of Seireitei was hanging by a thread. The loss of Fifth Companies captain had put a strain on everyone, especially Momo. It drove a stake through Toshiro’s chest to see his old friend in such a state, the plum spirit locked behind bars. The memory pained the ice spirit, he had been forced to raise his blade against his friend but duty always came first, and for a lieutenant to raise their blade to a superior officer was enough to have Momo executed on the spot.

Perhaps it was his fault. After the meeting Toshiro had overheard Ichimaru and Aizen speaking, a threatening tone laced into the snake spirit’s words. Aizen was accusing Ichimaru of the convenience of the Ryoka’s appearance, swearing that the Third wouldn’t “get away with this” and it was best not to underestimate him.

Perhaps Toshiro was just being paranoid. Perhaps he had misheard the two. Yet he had still warned Momo about the Third captain, Ichimaru was dangerous there was no doubt about that, and the passing conversation between the snake and the moon spirit only fueled Toshiro’s suspicions.

It was that suspicion however, that landed Momo in confinement. After finding Aizen, many of the other captains close to Fifth Company had gathered to see what the young lieutenant had been screaming about. Ichimaru was one of the firsts at the crime scene, and in a fit of rage Momo struck at him only for Lieutenant Kira to stop her attack with one of his own. Toshiro had arrived shortly after that, ordering the present lieutenants to restrain and contain Momo and Kira.

Toshiro didn’t report the threat he made to Ichimaru.

Later he and Matsumoto Rangiku, his lieutenant, had tried everything they could to cheer the plum spirit. Momo had rejected all, telling the Tenth Captain and Lieutenant that the only possible thing that could help her was capturing and killing the Ryoka.

Another part of their situation that bothered Toshiro.

Ichimaru’s words continued to circle through the young captain’s mind, “ _ it took one simple lieutenant to subdue the boy, and yet somehow he was able to kill one of our very own commanding officers” _ .

Despit his deep hatred for the sly spirit, Toshiro had to agree. Abarai and Kuchiki had been able to subdue and capture the Ryoka spirit without sustaining any injury. If two lieutenant class spirits had been able to handle the rogue, then how was it that Aizen, a captain class spirit with considerable kido ability, was defeated and killed? There was no doubt that the Fifth captain should have easily been able to control the Ryoka spirit, and there had been no report of a battle from any of Fifth Company officers. Momo had reported that her captain had left the barracks on a personal matter, when she felt a flare of his reiatsu and raced to his side. The rest was history, and Unohana herself confirmed that the energy found on Aizen matched that of the Ryoka spirit. Which meant that the Ryoka either caught Aizen by surprise, unlikely, or was stronger than Abarai led on.

Toshiro thought and thought, his mind racing at top speed as he went over the official report over and over. In retrospect it all made sense and he should be completely focused on capturing, or killing according to  **some** captains, the Ryoka. But the more Toshiro ran the situation through his head, the less true it sounded.

No Ryoka in the history of the Court had ever had the power to kill a captain. They were rogue spirits, belonging to neither the Court or law of the Soul Society, and were loners by nature. They never strayed too close to the Seireitei, from what Toshiro knew of the elusive spirits, and they weren’t generally known to be exceptionally strong. So how was one Ryoka able to murder a high class captain without anyone noticing?

“Captain?” Matsumoto’s voice called. The feline spirits usual bubbly tone was gone, replaced with a calm demeanor and sad eyes. Her hair hung over her shoulders like her scarf and the pink fur along her arms and neck was unbrushed, her long claw-like nails uncared for. Like the rest of the Court, she had not slept well the past few days.

“What is it, Matsumoto?”

“I was wondering if you would give me permission to go see Lieutenant Hinamori. There’s something I need to give her.”

He looked away from the papers and at his second in command. In her hand Matsumoto held a sealed envelop, a red tie holding the paper slightly loose.

“What is it?”

“...”

“Matsumoto.”

“It’s addressed to Momo, from Captain Aizen.”

That caught Toshiro’s attention.

He held out his hand, “Let me see it.”

Matsumoto handed him the sealed note and Toshiro looked at it with keen blue eyes. The writing was definitely Aizen’s, Momo’s name written on the front and the seal was Fifth Company’s. The paper looked familiar, and Toshiro recognized it from the pile of evidence that his officer spirits had collected from Aizen’s office.

He sighed, “Did you get this from the evidence file?”

Ash fell from Matsumoto’s hair as her face blushed red, “Yes, I thought you were going to give it to the High Commander.”

“I was. It’s part of the investigation.”

“But Captain… For a lieutenant it is a great honour to receive their captain’s final words. Please let me bring her the letter.”

Toshiro looked at the page, knowing the woman was right, and handed the letter back to his lieutenant.

“No one will hear about this, understand? It should be with the evidence, but give it to Momo.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Matsumoto smiled and took the letter, then walked out of the office.

Once she was gone from the barracks Toshiro leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. It hadn’t exactly been a secret, how Momo felt about her captain, and it didn’t per say “bother” Toshiro to see his oldest friend become so endeared with her superior. Relations between officer spirits was borderline questionable and had been for millennia, and in all honesty it wasn’t the strangest Toshiro had seen. The ice spirit’s own captain had been like a bizarre older brother/father figure, and Eighth Company's captain was branded a known pervert only held back by his dutiful lieutenant.

Toshiro wondered what was in the letter, what the  _ tsuku _ spirit could have written to his second in command. If it were words of comfort or a will, maybe even just the last captain’s last report and nothing special.

_ Maybe I should have read it first _ , he thought. He pushed the idea aside.  _ No, Matsumoto is right _ . It was a lieutenant’s right to be the first to hear their captain’s last words, and vice-versa. And just perhaps, hearing Captain Aizen’s last words would bring Momo the closure she needed.

* * *

 

Kyoraku sighed, and sipped another cup of sake. Next to him sat his oldest friend, almost like a brother, Ukitake Jushiro. The old twin fish spirit had been staring at the hill valley view since they sat down with a terribly sad look on his pale face. Kyoraku knew that look, Jushiro wore it the same day as his lieutenant’s funeral, and here he wore it again for the passing of a young captain. Both of them had known Sosuke since the man had been a young spirit, the ever wistful lieutenant of the old Fifth captain before the midnight massacre over a century ago. It was beginning to look as if the mantel of Fifth Captain was cursed.

It wasn’t only the young moon spirits death Jushiro was fretting over. Only a few hours ago Jushiro’s rising star protege Kuchiki Rukia, along with the Sixth Company’s lieutenant, had left to capture the Ryoka. From what his friend had told him, Miss Kuchiki had been terribly upset after finding out it was Captain Aizen who recommended her to arrest the Ryoka.

Shunsui supposed it was for the best, Kuchiki and Abarai being the ones to bring back the Ryoka. They had been the ones to capture the young spirit in the first place, and most likely felt that it was their own shortcomings that got Sosuke killed. Some of the other Court spirits were just as hungry for blood, some more than others, and a couple spirits couldn’t seem to care less. For Shunsui and Jushiro it seemed like they, as well as Unohana perhaps, were the least interested in taking action. They’d seen captain’s come and go over the centuries, the last one seeing the most change ever, and over all sorts of peculiar and different circumstances. Maybe they were just getting old, Shunsui thought.

He took another sip of sake, and ignored the daggers his lieutenant sent in his back.

“That is your third bottle,” she stated.

Shunsui, always in favour of annoying his second in command, smiled and said, “I counted it as my second.”

“Captain shouldn’t we be focusing on the more immediate problem?”

“Is that a suggestion to have more sake?”

“We received orders from the High Commander to capture the Ryoka, and yet you have not issued a single search party nor have you gone to scout the Rukongai forests yourself.”

“Meh, I think that if he really wanted to the young Ryoka could easily outrun an old man like me.”

“This is not something to take lightly, Captain! The Ryoka has murdered a Court officer and must face high punishment! This is not the time to be laying around and watching the sunset.”

The Eighth Commander grew a goofy grin on his face, “My dear Nanao I think all this stress is making your hair turn grey~.”

Nanao’s foot hit him in the back of the head, sending the old spirit head first into the grass. Jushiro, wise enough to know never to get between the two, only watched as the young woman stomped her superior into the dirt.

She stopped and allowed Shunsui to pull himself from the crater, “When you decide to get serious about finding the Ryoka, I will be at the barracks,” and vanished in a short flash of white light.

Jushiro laughed lightly, “You haven’t changed a bit.”

Dusting himself off, Shunsui returned the grin, “Change is for the young.”

“Then you know she is right.”

“Of course I do. I just don’t see the point in going rabbit chasing. The Ryoka will be back.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Not entirely, it’s just a feeling I have.”

“That’s not very assuring…”

Shunsui didn’t disagree, he wouldn’t be convinced if he were anyone else, but the old spirit had always had a nose of danger whether is was foreshadowing or immediate. But Kyoraku Shunsui was a fickle, and sometimes insidious, man who often took pleasure in delving into his darker half every once in awhile.

“Mah, Jushiro. You make it sound like you don’t think your officer and Byakuya’s lieutenant are up to the challenge. Have you no faith in the two?”

The pisces spirit gave him a look, “I have faith in Rukia and Lieutenant Abarai, but this Ryoka seems a bit much for them. The rogue was able to kill a captain class spirit, stronger than a lieutenant class by far, yet they were the only two to leave the Seireitei to search for the Ryoka.”

Jushiro looked out to the valley beneath them, “I’m only concerned for their safety.”

Looking just as downhearted, Kyoraku followed his old friends gaze, “Of course you are.”

Quiety he sent a small prayer out to the world, silently asking that the young girl and her friend returned in perfect health. Jushiro didn’t deserve to lose another good officer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter took forever to get to where I wanted it. I had to rewrite it over and over until I finally gave up, good enough. In this chapter we got a look into the pov from two of my favourite characters in Bleach; Toshiro and Shunsui. I hope I did their characters justice, and I really want to know what people think about what will happen next. Are you catching hints? This AU does follow the general plot of Bleach's Soul Society arc, so I'm trying to include most of the main contributing elements in this story. Please message me if you have any questions or leave a comment!  
> Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Renji had just about enough of this kid and his stupid pet. They had been traveling for over three hours to Karakura after having to turn around from the lake, and that damn kitsune wasn’t making it any easier. The thing bit, hard.

Kurosaki fell to the ground and whined, “I’m so hungry…”

The kitsune jumped on top of the boy’s head, its tongue hanging out and its tail wagging.

“How are you hungry? We’ve barely walked a day.”

“Yeah but I didn’t eat today and I didn’t eat yesterday or the day before that! I haven’t eaten anything in three days!”

As proof to his words, a long, loud growl sounded from Ichigo’s stomach. The kitsune barked and jumped on his head, licking its lips.

Rukia looked at Renji, the man in question looking like he thought he was being punked, and sighed.

“It’s nearly sunset, we’ll set up a camp and stay here for the night and find some food.”

Renji, oddly, looked relieved.

He stretched his arms over his head, “Sounds good to me. Who wants to do what?”

“You set up the fire,” Rukia instructed Renji. “Kurosaki and I can find food to eat.”

Renji nodded and Kurosaki’s, and the kit’s, face lite up at the thought of actually doing some hunting. Rukia wasn’t good with fire, being an ice/snow spirit, but as long as she stayed a reasonable distance and was in control of her power she would be fine.

The kitsune on Kurosaki’s head barked and leapt into the bushes, Kurosaki quickly following after it. Rukia huffed and followed the younger spirit into the woods, leaving Renji alone to gather wood and dry leaves for the fire. Finally he had some alone time. Time he took to mull over the recent discoveries, and forge some kind of plan around how they were going to convince Central 46, as well as the rest of the Court, that Kurosaki wasn’t responsible for Captain Aizen’s death. Accusation was not something taken lightly in the Court Guard, Renji had once heard of a captain class spirit being banished for accusing a lieutenant of treason without proof, and so far the only lead they had was the word of a slightly estranged three month old spirit.

Needless to say their options were limited and very, very poor. They still needed to actually get Kurosaki back to the Seireitei in order to lure out the real killer and bring them to justice, and so far the boy was less than willing to help them. Something about Kurosaki still bothered Renji and Zabimaru, no Ryoka spirit was capable of producing that much dark spirit energy, not even the more docile twilight spirits. Plus Rukia’s reaction practically proved it; the boy was half hollow.

Which presented a whole new set of problems for the shinigami spirits. Half hollows were on the incredible short list of things that should not exist, and if one to ever be discovered it was to be eliminated immediately. The fallen spirits were monsters straight out of a child’s nightmare, and the very reason why the Court Guard existed. It was Renji’s job, the whole reason he became a Court officer, to kill and cleanse any hollow spirit he came across, which technically now included Kurosaki Ichigo.

He wondered if any other spirits would notice when they brought Kurosaki in, and silently prayed that if they did then they would at least hear him and Rukia out first before trying to behead the boy. Someone like Zaraki might see it as a perfect challenge and demand a fight to the death with Kurosaki, or worse Kurotsuchi might argue that it could be worth the Court’s while to “study” a spirit like Kurosaki closer. Either way the kid would be killed painfully and there would go Renji and Rukia’s only evidence. Maybe if they bound Kurosaki in kido to hide the hollow feel…

Zabimaru hissed at him, shooting the idea down like a fowl out of the sky. Renji muttered about seeing if the snake had any better ideas as he gathered more dry leaves. Zabimaru only retorted that if he had any idea than Renji would have the same idea since they were the same person.

Renji just wondered if Rukia was having as much trouble as he was.

Rukia was having trouble, which was ridiculous because she was a trained Court spirit and a member of the Kuchiki clan. How hard could it be to catch a simple meal?!

Well, if you were a wild spirit like Kurosaki obviously was, not very hard at all. They had been hunting for an hour, Rukia managing to gather some mushrooms and wild berries and spices, as well as some tea leaves, while Kurosaki and his kit seemed to be having a grand old time hunting for meat. Rukia had nearly had a heart attack when he showed her the rabbit he had caught.

This just isn’t fair, she thought as she once again missed the chance at a good meal. The boar ran just out of her spells reach and off towards a thick bush before a black blur tackled it and it’s shrieks were silenced. Kurosaki, and the kitsune pup, lifted his kill with a smirk on his (in Rukia’s opinion) stupid, smug face.

“I thought Court spirits were supposed to be natural killers?”

Rukia, ignoring the blood dripping on the boy’s hand, sneered at Kurosaki, “The Court exists to cleanse and protect this world from hollows, not to go hunting for small game.”

Kurosaki shrugged, “So you’ve said. We have enough food for tonight, I just hope your boyfriend knows how to start a fire.”

“He is not my boyfriend! Why would you assume that!?”

“What rank are you anyway? I know that the other guy said he was a lieutenant, but what about you? Are you just some random officer that decided to tag along?”

Rukia huffed, fairly annoyed by the quick change of topic, “I am a noble spirit of the Kuchiki clan, sister to the clan’s current Head, Kuchiki Byakuya.”

“... What rank is that?”

“I’m an officer of the Thirteenth Company, that’s all you need to know.”

“... So you don’t have a rank.”

Rukia let her emotions run for a split second, enough time to knock Kurosaki on the head and face first into the dirt, then gathered her wild foods and headed back to the camp. There Renji had set up a fire and a pile of extra blocks of wood. Rukia set the food next to the fire and grabbed the longer sticks, beginning to skewer them.

Renji picked up a rabbit, “Did you catch these?”

“No, Kurosaki did.”

“Ah. Figures, you’d never be able to kill a rabbit. You love that chappy thing way too much.”

Rukia watched, trying not to cry, as Renji began to skin the dead animal, and focused herself on the vegetables. Kurosaki joined them and began to skin the boar he caught, the kitsune jumping around him and begging for the scraps that Kurosaki was happy to give him. He glanced at the fire, throwing in the entrails, then asked out loud,

“So what’s the Seireitei like?”

Renji placed the skewered rabbit on the fire, “You’ve been there before, remember?”

“I remember waking up in a bed, knocking out some spirits, then running as fast as I could back into the forest outskirts. Didn’t exactly take the time to see the sights. Everything I know about the Court is just rumors rural spirits like to spread. Like the one about there being a giant wolf man lurking in the Seventh Company.”

Rukia exchanged a look of confusion with Renji, who shrugged.

“It’s modeled like a large city, split into thirteen sectors that act as boundary area’s for each company. The whole perimeter is surrounded by a wall made of sekki-seki rock. Within the outermost part of the city is where shinigami officers and members of the Court live, as well as the Four Great Noble families.”

Kurosaki listened intently while he held a piece of boar in his hand, black and red flames burning under the meat.

“That’s it?” he asked.

“There’s not much to say, why don’t you tell us about Karakura and yourself instead?”

The Ryoka tore off a piece of the cooked meat and gave it to the kitsune, “Karakura isn’t a big kingdom like Seireitei, but there’s a decent population of spirits. My family runs a small clinic and there’s a school and an open market. Most spirits usually stick around after awakening, and there are lots of spirits that haven’t fully awakened yet.”

Rukia and Renji sat across from the boy and ate their meal.

“What about your family? Do you have any friends?” Rukia asked, eating a cooked mushroom.

“My dad’s unawakened like my sisters. He runs the clinic. My friends are some of the other awakened spirits, they woke about the same time I did.”

“What about your mother? Is she awakened?”

Kurosaki looked away from her to the fire, “She died.”

Rukia watched as he threw some bones into the fire and ate, tearing bits off for the kitsune, then looked to Renji. Truth be told she was tempted to ask for more, but it was plainly obvious that Kurosaki was no longer in the mood for sharing. They ended the night and slept relatively well, a swollen feeling stuck in Rukia’s neck the whole night. She was curious, more than ever, to know more about the half-hollow boy Renji and her were stuck with, but she pushed all that aside to contemplate the half-assed plan she and Renji had concocted in hopes of finding Captain Aizen’s killer.

In the wee hours, after making sure that Kurosaki was completely asleep and wouldn’t overhear, Rukia and Renji discussed what to do once they got back to Seireitei.

“Only the captains and lieutenants knew about him,” Renji explained, “And only the High Commander, Captain Aizen, Captain Ukitake, and Captain Kuchiki know what he looks like. Since Captain Aizen is… You know. That means that only five Court spirits know what the Ryoka actually looks like. We could sneak him in easily enough.”

“We can’t be sure that Captain Ukitake and my brother won’t attack him on sight. The High Commander gave orders that the Ryoka is to be arrested and executed by Central 46, but he might just approve of killing him on sight.”

The kitsune pup yawned from its spot on Kurosaki’s chest, and pawed its way to Rukia’s side. She scratched it behind the ear and listened as Renji continued.

“The orders were to arrest him and we’ll be the ones technically bringing him in. If they see he’s being escorted by a lieutenant and a member of one of the noble houses then they’ll know there’s nothing to worry about.”

“You’re forgetting that we are the ones who were blamed for losing him in the first place!” Rukia hissed at the man.

“Well do you have any better ideas?”

She did in fact not have any better ideas, but she wasn’t about to let Renji know that.

“That sounds better than getting killed,” Kurosaki rolled over and sat up, a leaf stuck in his unruly hair, “If we just walk in like I’ve been arrested then I won’t be seen as a threat, right?”

Ignoring the threat that the strange boy may have overheard their entire conversation, Rukia said, “We would have to make it convincing. Place restraints and binning spells on you, which would leave you defenseless.”

“And they won’t believe that you were arrested willingly,” added Renji.

“Not to mention that there is still the threat that Captain Aizen’s true killer may target you to stop further investigation.”

“This plan is sounding less and less possible,” Kurosaki said dryly.

Rukia sighed, “We’ll go over it again later, it’s late. Let’s just get some sleep.”

And with that Rukia turned over on her back and shut her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long time coming but I am finally back! I had a busy year and, recently, was finally released from the hospital I was at! I am all okay and on the mend, so if you hate me for never updating this I apologize and offer you a brand new chapter! I will be updating more since I won't be at school this semester, so get ready! Thank you for reading, and have a good year!

**Author's Note:**

> So in this AU each character looks sort of like how their zanpaku-to did in the blade arch from the anime. More characters will be introduced as the story goes on, but please review so I know if I should upload more of the story.
> 
> Thanks!


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